Sailors were forced into Iranian waters - Hoon

The eight British servicemen seized by Iran last week were “forcibly escorted into Iranian territorial waters” before they were detained, the British Ministry of Defence has said.

The six Royal Marines and two Royal Navy sailors were captured after their patrol boats were said to have strayed by mistake into the Iranian side of the Shatt al Arab waterway, sparking a tense three-day stand-off.

It was thought the men had accidentally entered Iranian waters on their way to Basra to deliver one of the patrol boats to the new Iraqi Riverine Patrol Service.

But in a written Commons statement last night, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said: “In a recent debriefing the crews have said that they were operating inside the Iraqi border and were forcibly escorted into Iranian territorial waters.

“Our assessment continues and will be greatly assisted by the retrieval of navigational information in the Global Positioning System equipment carried by the crews.

“We are very concerned about the blindfolding of the men and have made representations to the government of Iran.

“We have made it clear that we do not expect a recurrence of this incident.”

He said British personnel were issued with modern charts and equipment which should be sufficient to prevent straying across the border.

Mr Hoon also disclosed that the Iranians have failed to comply with a deadline set for the return of the British equipment, including three boats, weapons, ammunition, radios and navigational equipment.

After the men’s release last Friday, Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi said his country would return the equipment.

One of the men returned home yesterday for medical reasons associated with the incident and another two returned as their tour of duty ended.

The remaining five continue to work in Iraq, Mr Hoon said.

Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Paul Keetch said: “This is potentially a new twist to the story. The GPS equipment has yet to be returned. When it is, it may well shed more light on the matter.

“The Secretary of State should clarify his statement as soon as possible.”